Vacuum cleaner



March 29, 1938.

G. E. LOFGREN VACUUM CLEANER Filed June 25, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet l 1vENTbR.

March 29, 1938.

e. E. LQFGREN VACUUM CLEANER- Filed June 25, 1956 WW KA 1N VENTOR.

M Adi/9% 1%; ATTORNEY.

I Patented Mar. 29, 1938 PATE'NT OFFICE VACUUM CLEANER Gustaf EinarLoigren, Riverside, Com, assignor to Electrolux Corporation, Dover, Del,a corporation of Delaware Application June 25,

Claims.

- My invention relates to vacuum cleaners and more particularly tovacuum cleaners of the enclosed bag type. In cleaners of this type, itis common to provide a casing within which are I disposed a motor-fanunit and a dust bag or other dust separating member. In order to cleanthe dust bag of accumulated dirt, it is necessary to remove it and hencea removable closure member is.provided for this purpose. 10 It is alsoconvenient to arrange the closure-member so that it clamps the vdust bagin place.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a new and improvedmeans for removably securing a closure member in place. In accordancewith my invention the closure member may be removed by a simple naturalmovement of a single handle member which movement first releases theclosure member from engagement with the rest of the casing andthereafter removes the closure member. My invention'further includes anautomatic operating toggle mechanism which looks the closure member inengagement with the casing upon movement of the single handle member intheproper direction.

It is also convenient in a cleaner of this type to attach a suction hoseto the closure member. Inasmuch as-the hose is used to pull the cleanerover the surface on which it rests, this force must be transmitted fromthe closure member, to

the casing through the means employed to secure the former tothe'latterh Hence, another object of my invention is to provide securingmeans so arranged that this force has no tendency to cause release ofthe closure member from the casing. I

' Further objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent fromthe following descriptionconsidered in connection withv the accompanyingdrawings forming part of this specification, and of which Fig. 1 is aside view,'partially in cross-section,

of a. preferred embodiment of my invention; Flgl. 2is an end view. ofthedevice shown in Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an enlarged view ofthe portion of the device shown in Fig. 1 which embodies my invention,and is taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; g v I n "Fig. 4 is across-sectional view taken on the line Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional viewtaken on the "line I5 ofFlg.4; n

Fig. 6 is a .cross sectional view taken on the lines H of Figs. 4 and 5;.x Fig. is a cross-sectional view of a portion of 1936, Serial No.87,125. (01. 183-37) the device shown in Fig. 3, but showing certainparts in different positions; and

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but showing certain parts in adiiferent position.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, 5

reference character Iii designates the main portion of a vacuum cleanercasing, preferably including a rounded upper stamping H and a sub- Vstantially flat lower stampingl 2 which are joined together in air tightrelationship along the seam l3. If desired, this seam may be covered by'a rubber strip M. which serves as a bumper to prevent marring offurniture or the like with which the device accidentally may come incontact. Lower stamping I2 is preferably formed withrunners i 5 and I6for supporting the unit on a surface.

Casing I0 is reenforced and divided into three compartments by meansofbulkheads I1 and Ill. The space I 9 between these bulkheads may be 20 vtermed a motor-fan compartment and access thereto may be had by means ofa removable cover member 20 secured in place in an opening formed in thebottom stamping. Suspended between the bulkheads is a preferablycylindrical 5 case 2| within which is mounted the motor-fan unitincluding an electric motor 22 and a centrifugal fan 23.

The space M between bulkhead l8 and the adjacent end of the casing maybe termed a 30 filter compartment and encloses a suitable filter element25. This end of the casing is "provided with an opening sufllcientlylarge topermit the insertion and removal of the filter element, whichopening is normally closed by means of a clo- 35 sure member 26. vMember. 26 is provided with an exhaust opening 21 acrosswhich extends aplurality of vanes 28 for the purpose of directing air flowingtherethrough' in an upward direction.

The space 29 between bulkhead I! and the ad-' jacent end 'of casingl0may be termed a dust bag compartment. This end of the casing isprovided-with a preferably, though not necessarily, circular openingbounded by a flanged ring 30 which provides an outwardly facing seat v3| fora dust bag 'ring 32. Ring 32 is formed with an outwardly extendingflange 33 which carries a packing ring 34 of rubber or other suitablecompressible material. A dust bag 35 of cloth which -is pervious withrespect to air but im vious with respect to dust has its open endsecured to ring 32.v

A closure member designated generally by "eterence character 40 isadapted to close the ope..- ing formed by ring 30. The closure memberinlet'opening 42 which is adapted to receive and retain one end of aflexible'hose 43. To .the other end of the hose may be connected asuction nozzle 44 by means of a hollowrigid handle 45.

Preferably integral with plate 4| is a pair of spaced members 46 betweenwhich is pivotally mounted a handle 41 by means of a pivoting pin 48.Handle 41 includes a preferably curved hand grasped portion 49 and asubstantially circular portion 56.

A double rack 5| is slidably mounted on the outer surface of plate 4|and preferably slides on tracks 52 which are raised slightly above thesurface of the plate. These tracks may be machined so as to provide asmooth sliding surface. Rack 5| is retained against tracks 52 by meansoi headed pins 56 which extend through slots 51 formed in the arms 58 ofthe rack.

Rack 5| is provided with a pair-of ears 53 disposed on either side ofcircular portion 50 of the handle and between portion 56 and members 46.Ears 53 are provided with slots 54 which are engaged by a pin 55 rigidlysecured to central portion 56 and projecting from. both sides thereof.

Ann 56 are formed with gear teeth 59 which engage similar gear teethformed on gear segmerits 66, which are pivotally secured to plate 4| bymeans of headed pins 6|. Integral with gear segments 60 are latchmembers 62. Ring 36 is formed with box-like recesses 65 on oppositesides of the ring and in alignment with the pivots 6| of the covermember. Retained within each recess 65 is a spring member 66 having theshape clearly shown in Fig. 6. That is to say, spring member 66 is madeof a flat piece of spring material and is formed so as to have asubstantial flat central portion 61 and curved end portions 68.Furthermore, these spring-members are so formed that the fiat centralportion 61 is inclined slightly to the plane of movement of the latches62, as is likewise clear from Fig. 6. Plate 4| is formed 1 with flanges69 adapted to receive the box-like entrained in this air.

portions of ring 36 which form the recess 65, thus assuring that thecover member is properly located with respect to the ring 36.

The outer surface of plate 4| is also provided with a projecting arm 16to which is pivotally secured at H one arm 12 of the toggle mechanism.The'other arm 13 of this mechanism is pivotally connected at 14 to aprojection formed on central portion 56 of the handle. A spring 15surrounds arms 12 and 13 and tends to lengthen the toggle.

A stamping I6 is preferably secured to plate 4| for the purpose ofconcealing the mechanism carried on the outer surface of the plate, andthe shape of stamping 16 is preferably such as to carry out and blendwith the shape .of the main part It of the vacuum cleaner casing.Stamping 16 may be secured to plate 4| by means of a screw 11 whichengages arm and by means of a threaded ring 18 which may be screwed onto the outer threaded end of inlet 42 so as to clamp a flange 19 formedon the stamping.

The operation of the above described device is as follows:

With the unit assembled as shown in Fig. 1 rotation of the fan 23 by themotor 22 causes air to be drawn in through nozzle 44, handle 45, hose 43and inlet 42 to the interior of dust bag 35. As the nozzle is passedover a dusty surface dust is This dust is deposited within the dust bag,while the air passes therethrough and is discharged by the fan throughfilter element 25 and finally passes to the atmosphere through exhaustopening 21.

After the vacuum cleaner has been operated for some time, sufiicientdust has accumulated within the dust bag 35 to require the cleaningthereof. This is accomplished by removing closure member 46, which maybe done by grasping the part 49 of handle 41 and rotating it in acounter-clockwise direction to the position shown in Fig. 7. Thismovement causes pin 55 attached to the handle to move in an-arcgenerally upwardly. Rack 5| is hence caused to slide upwardly in astraight line along tracks 52, the pin and slot connection between therack and the handle permitting arcuate movement of the handle to causestraight line movement of the rack. This movement of the rack causesgear segments 60 to pivot in opposite directions to the position shownin Fig. 8. In this position the latch member 62 has been pivoted out ofrecess 65 and out of engagement with the springs 66 contained therein.Consequently, the closure member is no longer secured to the rest of thecasing and it may be removed therefrom by movinghandle member 41 awayfrom the casing. It will be seen that this latter movement is acontinuation of, and in substantially the same direction as, themovement of the handle which releases the latch members 62.Consequently, as far as the operator is concerned, both the releasingand removal of the cover member is effected by merely grasping thehandle and pulling it in a direction away from the cleaner.

The dust bag may now be removed from the compartment 29 and emptied. Itis-then replaced in the compartment and. the cover member put back. Inorder to engage the cover member with the rest of the casing, it isplaced on the ring 36 with the flanges 66 embracing the box-likestructures 65. Thereafter, the handle 41 is turned or rotated in aclock-wise direction. This causes the rack to move downwardly and torotate the gear segments 60 so as to project the latches 62 intoengagement with the spring 66 contained in the recesses 65. As will beseen from Fig. 6, as the latch 62 moves toward the right, as viewed inthis figure, it deforms the spring 66, by virtue of the inclination ofthe fiat ring 30. This results in the formation of anair 7 tight sealaround the opening.

The toggle mechanism assures that the latch member 62 will remain inengagement with the springs66. Inthe position shown in Fig. 3, the

spring 15 of the toggle tends to rotate the handle member in aclock-wise direction, thus tending to force the latch member 62 furtherto the right, as viewed in Fig. 6, against spring 66. Likewise, when thehandle is in the position shown in Fig. '7, the spring 16 of the togglemechanism tends to rotate the handle in a counterclockwise direction,thus assuring that itwill remain in this position when it is picked upby the operator and until the closure member is in place and theoperator intentionally exerts suflicient force on the handle to overcomethe resistance of the spring 15. i

When removing the closure member not necessary to detach the hose 43therefrom, inasmuch as the presence of the hose has no effectwhatsoever. upon the releasing or attachclosure for the dust bagopening, it could be used has been done for purposes of illustrationonly air'aa'ra vacuum cleaner, a member pivotally mounted on the vacuumcleaner unit is moved over the surface on which it is supported by theoperator pulling on the hose 43. The force resulting therefrom istransmitted to the closure member and from there to the casing throughthe latching' lmechanism. It is important that this force, which isapplied in a direction tending to open the seal formed by packing 34,shall not have .this eiiect. Leakageat this point would result in asubstantial reduction in the emciency of the'vacuum cleaner. It will benotedthat the direction of this force is at right angles to the plane inwhich the latch members 62 are,rotated to release them. Consequently,this force has no tendency whatsoever to turn the latch members, andhence does not tend to loosen or release the closure member from thecasing.

It will be noted that the engagement between the latch .members 62carried by the closure member 40 and the spring 66 takes place withinthe casing proper, inasmuch as these springs are retained within'recessformed in ring 30 which is part of the casing. This adds greatly to theappearance oi the vacuum cleaner inasmuch as all fastening mechanism iswithin the casing and hence out of sight. Although the present inventionhas been described in connection with the as well for securing themember 26 to the main portion ill of the casing.

While I have shown and described one more or less specific embodiment ofmy invention, this as required by the patent statutes, and does notconstitute a limitation of my invention, the scope of which is-to bedetermined by the appended claims viewed in the light oi the prior art.

, What I claim is:

1. In a vacuum cleaner, a casing formed with an opening, a closuremember for said opening, a member connected to said closure member forexerting a force thereon to move said vacuum cleaner, means movablymounted on said closure member and movable to engage said casing tosecure said closure member to said casing and being constructed andarranged for transmitting force from the closure member to the casingfor moving the vacuum cleaner, the plane of movement of said means beingsubstantially at right angles to the direction of application of saidforce, and a handle mounted on said closure member for moving saidmeans. I

2. In a vacuum cleaner, a casing formed withfl-i...

an opening, a closure memberior said opening provided with anair'passage, a flexible hose adapted to be connected to said-member soas to communicate with said passage and adapted to exert a force on saidmember 'for moving said vacuum cleaner, a member pivotally mounted onsaid closure member and rotatable to engage said casing toremovablysecure said closure member to said casing, the plane of rotation of the-piv-' otal member being substantially normal to the direction of theforce applied by said hose, whereby force for moving the vacuum cleaneris transmitted to the casing from the closure member, and a handlemounted on said closure member for rotating said means. i

' 3 In avacuum cleaner, a casing formed with anopening, a closure memberfor said opening provided with an air passage, a flexible hose adaptedto be connected to said member so as to communicate with said passageand adapted to exert a force on said member for moving said said closuremember and rotatable to engage said casing, the plane of rotation of thepivoted member being substantially normal to the direction of the forceapplied by said hose, whereby force for moving the vacuum cleaner istransmitted to the casing fromthe closure member, and a handle movablysecured to said closure-member and movable in substantially the samedirection as the direction of said force to rotate said pivoted memberout of engagement with said casing.

4. In a vacuum cleaner of the kind having a unit pulled on the rug by ahose and including acasing having a dust separator opening, a dustseparator ring seating in said opening, a cover,

means for compressing the dust separator ring I between the cover andthe casing, a handle on said cover mounted to move toward and. away fromsaid dust separator opening, and means connecting said handle with saidcompressing means to compress the dust separator ring when the handle ismoved toward the dust separator opening and to release the, compressingmeans on moving the handle away from the dust separator opening.

5'. In a vacuum cleaner of the kind having a unit pulled on the rug by ahose and including a.casing having ,a dust separator opening, a

" dust separator ring seating in said opening, a

cover, means for compressing the dust separator ring between the coverand the casing, said cover having'a hose receiving aperture, a hoseadapted to communicate with the interior of said casing through saidaperture, a handle on said cover mounted to move toward and away fromsaid dust separator opening, and means connecting said handle with saidcompressing means to compress the dust separator ring when the handle ismoved toward the, dust separator opening and to release the compressingmeans on movingv the handle away from the dust separator opening, saidcompressing means also serving to transmit pull between the hose and thecasing.

6. In a vacuum cleaner of the kind having a unit pulled on a rug by ahose and including a casing having a dust bag opening, a dust bag ringseating in said op ning, a cover having an air passage and adapted tohave a hose connected thereto, said cover being movable substantiallyhorizontally to and from said opening, means for securing said cover tosaid casing and for compressing the dust bag ring between the cover andthe casing, a handle on said cover pivoted .on a horizontal axis-andmechanism connecting said handle with said securing and compressingmeans to release said means on movement of the handle away from thecover, whereby a conti-v nuity of movement in the same general directionreleases the cover and removes it from the casing.

7. In a vacuum cleaner oi the kind having a unit pulled on a rug by ahoseand including a casing having a generally vertical dust bag opening,a dust bag ring seating in said opening,

a cover having a horizontal air passage, a hose connectible to said airpassage, and means for sealing the dust bag ring between the cover andthe casing, a handle on said cover pivoted on a horizontal axis, andmechanism connecting the handle and the sealing means to cause sealingonmovement oi the handle toward the cover as a continuing movement afterbringing the cover into position. i

8. In a vacuum cleaner of the kind having a unit pulled on the floor bya hose and including a' casing having a dust bag opening, a dust baghaving a rubber ring seating in said opening and a cover seating againstsaid dust bag ring, means adapted to exert a pull on said cover, pulltransmitting and ring compressing fingers movably mounted on said cover,said casing having receiving means for saidfingers, a handle mounted onsaid cover, and mechanism connecting said handle and fingers.

9. In a vacuum cleaner, a body including a ring bounding a dust bagopening, said ring having a seat for a dust bag in a given plane, saidring having projections extending from said plane with respect to thebody providing recesses, a cover having fingers adapted to enter saidrecesses, a dust bag ring fitting said seat, said cover having anannular surface for contacting the dust bag ring, said fingers beingpivoted adjacent said annular surface, a hose for pulling the body,means to connect the hose to the cover, snap-action mechanism for movingsaid fingers into and out of said recesses, and said cover pro vidingsupporting surfaces for said fingers to transmit force between the hoseand the body.

10. In a vacuum cleaner of the kind having a unit pulled on the rug by ahose and including a casing having an access opening for removal ofdust, a sealing ring seating in said opening, a cover, means forcompressing the sealing ring between the cover and the casing, a handleon said cover mounted to move toward and away from said opening, andmeans connecting said handle with said compressing means to compress thesealing ring when the handle is moved toward the opening and to releasethe compressing means on moving the handle away from the opening.

GUSTAF EINAR LOFGREN.

